Although Emma is an actress like her A-list aunt, Joel says the two are “completely different.” Are you surprised?

Julia Roberts has been America’s sweetheart since her Pretty Woman days, and now her niece, Emma Roberts, is starting to make a name for herself on the silver screen. But this aunt-and-niece duo have very little in common when it comes to their acting styles!

Now that director Joel Schumacher has worked with both of the Roberts women — he directed Julia, 42, in the 199o film Flatliners as well as the 1991 drama Dying Young; and Emma, 19, in his latest flick, Twelve — he has some very definitive thoughts on how they differ!

“Emma is so different, so completely different. She has her own start,” Joel told HollywoodLife.com exclusively July 29 at the Cinema Society screening of Twelve in NYC. “What [Emma and Julia] have in common, at that age – gorgeous, fun, great laughs, and big talent. But they’re very different in a lot of other ways.”

In fact, Emma is so unique that she was the very first person Joel thought to cast in his latest film! “Interview magazine asked me to interview Emma when she was 17 because I worked with Julia on two films,” he said. “She was the first person I asked to be in the film.”

We’re looking forward to seeing more from this talented young actress, who will be starring in It’s Kind of a Funny Story with Zach Galifianakis as well as Scream 4!